Pilot: Passenger fell out of plane; Miami offshore search continues
Source: Miami Herald
A manhunt and homicide investigation continued Thursday afternoon after a pilot reported that a passenger fell from a small plane flying over the Atlantic east of Key Biscayne.
The investigation began about 1:30 p.m. after a pilot whod taken off from Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport in a Piper PA 46 issued an emergency radio call, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! I have a door ajar and Im heading toward Tamiami, the pilot calmly said. I have a door ajar and a passenger that fell down. Im six miles from Tamiami.
You said youve got a passenger that fell out of your plane? an air traffic controller asks.
Thats correct, sir, the pilot responded. He opened the backdoor and he just fell out the plane.
The pilot landed safely at Tamiami airport, at which point he requested emergency services for the passenger and the FAA contacted the U.S. Coast Guard and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, according to agency spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and police then announced they were investigating the incident, and searching for the passenger with helicopters and marine patrol.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/14/3753180/pilots-mayday-call-spurs-miami.html#storylink=cpy
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/14/3753180/pilots-mayday-call-spurs-miami.html
monmouth3
(3,871 posts)maddezmom
(135,060 posts)Guess time will tell.
silvershadow
(10,336 posts)Hopefully he is just a distressed pilot of an unusual incident. Time will tell though.
JI7
(89,173 posts)Coast Guard and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue air and water units were searching an area about eight miles southeast of Tamiami Executive Airport, south of Miami, where the plane safely landed. It wasn't immediately clear where the flight originated or how many people were on board.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/14/faa-florida-passenger/3538233/
maddezmom
(135,060 posts)7962
(11,841 posts)groundloop
(11,487 posts)To open a door in flight wide enough for a person to fit through would require a hell of a lot of force, unless that plane was equipped with a jump door (for parachuting).
Suicide maybe?
mockmonkey
(2,778 posts)A passenger in a helicopter flying over the Newport Beach shoreline Tuesday opened the door and jumped out, falling about 500 feet to the ocean, authorities said.
The man later died at a local hospital.
Newport Beach police are investigating the 60-year-old mans death as a possible suicide. The Federal Aviation Administration is also reviewing the incident.
The man had apparently booked a 30-minute coastal tour for two people but showed up alone, said Chuck Street, a longtime helicopter pilot whose son was flying the chopper. The man paid $310 in advance for the flight.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-passenger-jumped-from-tour-helicopter-dies-20131105,0,363025.story#axzz2kfFh5VXG
marble falls
(56,358 posts)toby jo
(1,269 posts)Not the kind of thing any pilot would expect to be putting out on the airwaves. Hell, that's a 'holy shit' moment from here, never mind the cockpit ~
In_The_Wind
(72,300 posts)Earth_First
(14,910 posts)This doesn't seem like the type of aircraft that a pilot could leave the controls in order to open a door, struggle with someone, and toss them out.
Anyone with aviation experience able to lend some perspective?
Capt.Rocky300
(1,005 posts)with the top half opening upward for headroom and the bottom with built in steps dropping down to allow people to enter and exit. This is a pressurized aircraft so the doors have a very stout locking mechanism. It would take a concerted effort to unlock and open the doors in the slipstream but it can be done. Certainly not by accident though. I would like to know if the bottom half was still open during landing as it would be difficult to touch down and not have the door hit the runway. If it wasn't open that means the pilot put the aircraft on autopilot and went back and closed it. There is a lot of information missing in this early stage.
Ash_F
(5,861 posts)Like if the passenger lost balance and slammed into it?
Capt.Rocky300
(1,005 posts)In a banked turn, you could take off your seatbelt sitting next to an open door and not fall out. Slamming into it might cause it but with the doors secured and locked it is still unlikely.
Capt.Rocky300
(1,005 posts)with no room for an adult to stand or walk around. You can change seats with someone else but it's a bent at the waist dance with lots of physical contact.
Earth_First
(14,910 posts)Interesting.
This story is bizzare.
Capt.Rocky300
(1,005 posts)this sophisticated it is almost a necessity for single pilot operation. Workload in high density environments can become overwhelming.
catnhatnh
(8,976 posts)Sedona
(3,769 posts)(Sorry I grew up in South Florida and this weird shit happens almost daily. Its hard not to just laugh it off after a while)
BadGimp
(4,009 posts)the horror... the work hell
Q: how does one FALL from a small plane?
A: one is either pushed or one jumps. you don't fall!
Eugene
(61,592 posts)Source: Reuters
BY NOREEN O'DONNELL
Sat Nov 16, 2013 3:26pm EST
(Reuters) - A body found in Miami on Saturday is likely that of a passenger who plunged from a small private airplane as it flew off the city's coast two days ago, police said.
The body was discovered at about 10:30 a.m. on the ocean side of a mangrove area by the Miami-Dade Police Department's marine units, Detective Alvaro Zabaleta said in a statement.
Gerardo Nales, a 42-year-old resident of Key Biscayne, Florida, had been missing since he either jumped or fell into Biscayne Bay during a flight on Thursday afternoon, according to the plane's pilot.
"Even though we presume that the body found is that of Gerardo Nales, investigators are pending 'official identification' from the Medical Examiner's Office," the police statement said.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/16/us-usa-aircraft-plunge-idUSBRE9AF0BP20131116